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Topic: Overheard at Work (Read 9127761 times)

Co-worker 1 - well maybe our syndicate will win £1,000,000 on the lotteryCo-worker 2 - that's no good that's only 200k each.Me - you could retire on that (he's in his mid-late 40's)Co-worker 2 - you're kidding. By the time I'd put some away for a holiday every year and done up the house it would all be gone. Me - oh. Better get back to work then.

Today we just got an announcement that our company will finally be offering an HSA/HDHP... and will be contributing $500 into individuals accounts, or $1000 into a families account!

The HR lady was explaining the HSA. I heard comments from people such as the following:

CW1: "I'd rather they just give me the $500. I never go to the doctor and will just loose it and the end of the year anywayMe: No, an HSA lets you keep it year after year. you're thinking of an FSA.CW1: "you have a lot to learn about how finances work.

Hr lady: "And we'll allow you to invest your HSA money into any of a variety of mutual funds..."CW2: (mutters to his coworker) "I ain't letting no bank fag take my healthcare money!" (this is a quote... I work in a steel foundry. I swear the cast of idiocracy works here.)CW3: "I'm going to use my $500 to buy a boat"

I'm betting that these idiots will waste their money, incur penalties, and eventually get the HSA program canned due to their ignorant outcry about getting screwed.

This is why the U.S. has social security. There is no chance that most of the subjects in this thread would ever have the ability or will to provide for themselves in their old age. It just blows my mind the way some people's heads work.

CW1: Hey you see the 401k limits went up?CW2: Nah, I don't really mess with that stuff, I heard the fees eat up any returns.CW1: You at least get the employer match right?CW2: I just don't think it's worth it...

Posting this here, sorry if it has already been posted but I don't have time to go through the whole thread.

I listen to music on spotify while at work and keep hearing the Mobil1 ad where the guy claims to commute from Schenectady to Manhattan for work. I looked it up and according to Google it is a 2:30 commute one way!! I HOPE that no one would actually do this. That doesn't leave any time for anything else! That's 14 hours right there if working 8-5. Also to consider the gas. I would have to fill up every day in my car.

Today we just got an announcement that our company will finally be offering an HSA/HDHP... and will be contributing $500 into individuals accounts, or $1000 into a families account!

The HR lady was explaining the HSA. I heard comments from people such as the following:

CW1: "I'd rather they just give me the $500. I never go to the doctor and will just loose it and the end of the year anywayMe: No, an HSA lets you keep it year after year. you're thinking of an FSA.CW1: "you have a lot to learn about how finances work.

Hr lady: "And we'll allow you to invest your HSA money into any of a variety of mutual funds..."CW2: (mutters to his coworker) "I ain't letting no bank fag take my healthcare money!" (this is a quote... I work in a steel foundry. I swear the cast of idiocracy works here.)CW3: "I'm going to use my $500 to buy a boat"

I'm betting that these idiots will waste their money, incur penalties, and eventually get the HSA program canned due to their ignorant outcry about getting screwed.

This is why the U.S. has social security. There is no chance that most of the subjects in this thread would ever have the ability or will to provide for themselves in their old age. It just blows my mind the way some people's heads work.

Agreed. The last time I went to the 401k meeting at my company the poor rep was trying to convince everyone that if they just save $20 a paycheck, they will have $200,000 (!!!) by the time they are ready for retirement. I am just shocked at how low they are stooping--it's like any more than extremely small amounts taken out of their paychecks would turn people off. And since when is $200,000 enough for retirement? The way he said it was like 200k was some huge amount of money that would be impossible to attain without 30 years of compound interest.

I work at a company that pays very well. There is just no excuse for standards this low!

Today we just got an announcement that our company will finally be offering an HSA/HDHP... and will be contributing $500 into individuals accounts, or $1000 into a families account!

The HR lady was explaining the HSA. I heard comments from people such as the following:

CW1: "I'd rather they just give me the $500. I never go to the doctor and will just loose it and the end of the year anywayMe: No, an HSA lets you keep it year after year. you're thinking of an FSA.CW1: "you have a lot to learn about how finances work.

Hr lady: "And we'll allow you to invest your HSA money into any of a variety of mutual funds..."CW2: (mutters to his coworker) "I ain't letting no bank fag take my healthcare money!" (this is a quote... I work in a steel foundry. I swear the cast of idiocracy works here.)CW3: "I'm going to use my $500 to buy a boat"

I'm betting that these idiots will waste their money, incur penalties, and eventually get the HSA program canned due to their ignorant outcry about getting screwed.

Any sensible country MUST have a mandatory retirement contributions (like Social security in US) which must be sufficient to cover the basics. Why, you might ask? Because of huge amount of people who'll never save unless forced to and will have to be supported in old age anyway for humanitarian and safety reasons. Fully voluntary retirement saving might work with most of us on this board, but can never be a general strategy.

Today we just got an announcement that our company will finally be offering an HSA/HDHP... and will be contributing $500 into individuals accounts, or $1000 into a families account!

The HR lady was explaining the HSA. I heard comments from people such as the following:

CW1: "I'd rather they just give me the $500. I never go to the doctor and will just loose it and the end of the year anywayMe: No, an HSA lets you keep it year after year. you're thinking of an FSA.CW1: "you have a lot to learn about how finances work.

Hr lady: "And we'll allow you to invest your HSA money into any of a variety of mutual funds..."CW2: (mutters to his coworker) "I ain't letting no bank fag take my healthcare money!" (this is a quote... I work in a steel foundry. I swear the cast of idiocracy works here.)CW3: "I'm going to use my $500 to buy a boat"

I'm betting that these idiots will waste their money, incur penalties, and eventually get the HSA program canned due to their ignorant outcry about getting screwed.

Today we just got an announcement that our company will finally be offering an HSA/HDHP... and will be contributing $500 into individuals accounts, or $1000 into a families account!

The HR lady was explaining the HSA. I heard comments from people such as the following:

CW1: "I'd rather they just give me the $500. I never go to the doctor and will just loose it and the end of the year anywayMe: No, an HSA lets you keep it year after year. you're thinking of an FSA.CW1: "you have a lot to learn about how finances work.

Hr lady: "And we'll allow you to invest your HSA money into any of a variety of mutual funds..."CW2: (mutters to his coworker) "I ain't letting no bank fag take my healthcare money!" (this is a quote... I work in a steel foundry. I swear the cast of idiocracy works here.)CW3: "I'm going to use my $500 to buy a boat"

I'm betting that these idiots will waste their money, incur penalties, and eventually get the HSA program canned due to their ignorant outcry about getting screwed.

Today we just got an announcement that our company will finally be offering an HSA/HDHP... and will be contributing $500 into individuals accounts, or $1000 into a families account!

The HR lady was explaining the HSA. I heard comments from people such as the following:

CW1: "I'd rather they just give me the $500. I never go to the doctor and will just loose it and the end of the year anywayMe: No, an HSA lets you keep it year after year. you're thinking of an FSA.CW1: "you have a lot to learn about how finances work.

Hr lady: "And we'll allow you to invest your HSA money into any of a variety of mutual funds..."CW2: (mutters to his coworker) "I ain't letting no bank fag take my healthcare money!" (this is a quote... I work in a steel foundry. I swear the cast of idiocracy works here.)CW3: "I'm going to use my $500 to buy a boat"

I'm betting that these idiots will waste their money, incur penalties, and eventually get the HSA program canned due to their ignorant outcry about getting screwed.

I posted upthread about how my company's HSA funds come on MasterCards and how many people got pissed off when they were told the cards couldn't be used like regular MasterCards.

I'm surprised Bank Fag Guy didn't bust out an Idiocracy quote--"you talk like a fag, and your shit's all retarded."

I'm going to out myself by saying, I have no idea what an HSA or an FSA are, either one. But if I were told my company was going to put $500 of money into EITHER one, I would certainly find out before I went about slamming them for it.

I'm going to out myself by saying, I have no idea what an HSA or an FSA are, either one. But if I were told my company was going to put $500 of money into EITHER one, I would certainly find out before I went about slamming them for it.

HSA - Health Savings Account. Carries over year-to-year and can be invested. Only allowed if you take a HDHP (High Deductible Health Plan). Only can be used for health spending until age 65 when it becomes another IRA. Can be added to even if you don't have a job, but has a limit.

FSA - Flexible Spending Account. Doesn't carry over year to year. Can be used for a variety of expenses (healthcare, child care, transportation). Can be used by anyone with a job.

Might have missed something, but that should pretty much cover it. Google is your friend though.

Posting this here, sorry if it has already been posted but I don't have time to go through the whole thread.

I listen to music on spotify while at work and keep hearing the Mobil1 ad where the guy claims to commute from Schenectady to Manhattan for work. I looked it up and according to Google it is a 2:30 commute one way!! I HOPE that no one would actually do this. That doesn't leave any time for anything else! That's 14 hours right there if working 8-5. Also to consider the gas. I would have to fill up every day in my car.

FSA - Flexible Spending Account. Doesn't carry over year to year. Can be used for a variety of expenses (healthcare, child care, transportation). Can be used by anyone with a job.

Might have missed something, but that should pretty much cover it. Google is your friend though.

Google is my friend. I wasn't so much as asking, as just saying these aren't common things everyone knows, but bashing them before you understand them is asinine.

Also, it turns out I do have an FSA, although I've never heard it called that. My company pays for public transit on my behalf. That goes into an account which then pays the transit authority. The more you know!

I looked it up and according to Google it is a 2:30 commute one way!! I HOPE that no one would actually do this. That doesn't leave any time for anything else! That's 14 hours right there if working 8-5. Also to consider the gas. I would have to fill up every day in my car.

My day is 14 hours when I bike and use the bus for commuting. 1.5 hours of biking. But it's free, as my work pays for my bus pass. If I drive and go running after work I don't get home significantly earlier. Luckily I get a lot of time off and when I have days off I rarely go anyplace.

FSA - Flexible Spending Account. Doesn't carry over year to year. Can be used for a variety of expenses (healthcare, child care, transportation). Can be used by anyone with a job.

Might have missed something, but that should pretty much cover it. Google is your friend though.

Google is my friend. I wasn't so much as asking, as just saying these aren't common things everyone knows, but bashing them before you understand them is asinine.

Also, it turns out I do have an FSA, although I've never heard it called that. My company pays for public transit on my behalf. That goes into an account which then pays the transit authority. The more you know!

Agreed. I don't put my money places I don't understand. If I am recommended to do so, I make an effort to understand first and consider the ramifications of doing so and not doing so. But hey, that's why we're mustachians and not sukkas right?

My day is 14 hours when I bike and use the bus for commuting. 1.5 hours of biking. But it's free, as my work pays for my bus pass. If I drive and go running after work I don't get home significantly earlier. Luckily I get a lot of time off and when I have days off I rarely go anyplace.

I would consider that too bad since you are getting in a workout during that time.

CW1: Hey you see the 401k limits went up?CW2: Nah, I don't really mess with that stuff, I heard the fees eat up any returns.CW1: You at least get the employer match right?CW2: I just don't think it's worth it...

Today we just got an announcement that our company will finally be offering an HSA/HDHP... and will be contributing $500 into individuals accounts, or $1000 into a families account!

The HR lady was explaining the HSA. I heard comments from people such as the following:

CW1: "I'd rather they just give me the $500. I never go to the doctor and will just loose it and the end of the year anywayMe: No, an HSA lets you keep it year after year. you're thinking of an FSA.CW1: "you have a lot to learn about how finances work.

Hr lady: "And we'll allow you to invest your HSA money into any of a variety of mutual funds..."CW2: (mutters to his coworker) "I ain't letting no bank fag take my healthcare money!" (this is a quote... I work in a steel foundry. I swear the cast of idiocracy works here.)CW3: "I'm going to use my $500 to buy a boat"

I'm betting that these idiots will waste their money, incur penalties, and eventually get the HSA program canned due to their ignorant outcry about getting screwed.

I posted upthread about how my company's HSA funds come on MasterCards and how many people got pissed off when they were told the cards couldn't be used like regular MasterCards.

I'm surprised Bank Fag Guy didn't bust out an Idiocracy quote--"you talk like a fag, and your shit's all retarded."

That last post reminds me: at work we have pay grades and when people have worked there long enough, they reach the ceiling. There's not raise in pay (unless the pay grades are changed.) So our boss invented a "performance differential" payout where if someone did a good job, they got a % of their pay over the ceiling. The percentages were flat, they did not go up each year, they didn't change.

So staff who received this performance differential would see one amount on their paycheck. Then, when the ceiling was raised (as it was every few years) they did not see a raise. They bitched and moaned about how they didn't "get my raise in my check." Even though in every situation, with no exception, everyone benefited from the performance differential program, there were complaints. It never worked against them.

That last post reminds me: at work we have pay grades and when people have worked there long enough, they reach the ceiling. There's not raise in pay (unless the pay grades are changed.) So our boss invented a "performance differential" payout where if someone did a good job, they got a % of their pay over the ceiling. The percentages were flat, they did not go up each year, they didn't change.

So staff who received this performance differential would see one amount on their paycheck. Then, when the ceiling was raised (as it was every few years) they did not see a raise. They bitched and moaned about how they didn't "get my raise in my check." Even though in every situation, with no exception, everyone benefited from the performance differential program, there were complaints. It never worked against them.

The boss became tired of the bitching and he stopped the program.

Wow. This is a case for representational democracy. The average citizen is breathtakingly capable of miscomprehension. Unfortunately, sometimes the representatives we choose are worse.

I don't know anything but riding in groups (besides as a kid)... but wouldn't you rather ride with those nicer bikes and remind them how your cheap bike can hang just as good? :)

I did this for a while, actually. I could keep up with everyone except the hardcore racer-wannabes. After a while, I just got tired of it. If they invited me to a ride again, I'd probably do it, but more often than not, I'd ride to the start point by myself (6 miles) then do 35-ish miles with them, then ride another 6 home. It started eating into my free time on Saturdays, since I was already getting ride time during the week to/from work.

I still chat with some of those folks, but when they start spewing over some new carbon thing, I just roll my eyes and sigh.

(EDIT) A lot of it had to do with them talking about nothing except expensive toys... I guess you could say my lifestyle wasn't compatible with theirs. Either they'd ride too fast to talk, or they'd talk about stuff I didn't care about.

Yeah, so I used to do races - I was running, worked my way up to 1/2 marathons, got injured, learned to swim, switched to sprint triathlons.

They were fun, but expensive. A half marathon is $90-$120. The triathlon was $120, plus the $250 (now more than that) training group fee, plus I had to buy a wetsuit and tri shorts...

I did two sprint triathlons total (before I had the second kid, and I haven't been able to get into the wetsuit yet, so...plus there's that $300 training fee + $120 tri fee). Before the second one my friend REALLY tried to get me to replace my hybrid bike with slicks (that I rode 10 miles to work 1-2x a week) with an actual road bike. In fact, they gave away a road bike that was donated, drew a name, but the kicker was that it was for people 5'4" and taller. And I'm not.

I simply said "yeah, I'm not that fast. But I'm a slow swimmer - 2nd to last out of the water, and I run a 10 minute mile. The bike part of the race is 6 miles long, I don't think a new bike is going to help shave off a ton of time from my 1 hour and 4 minute sprint triathlon."

I'm still into fitness. I have a gym membership and a bunch of workout DVDs to use at home on my hubby's gym days, etc. But I can't justify replacing a perfectly good bike. Even if only 7 of the 21 gears still work.

^^^ I've paid $125 for a 100 miler. I think that's reasonable given all the snacks and gatorades needed to stock about 15 check points. Last year someone told me about a half marathon. I looked into it and it was $75. I don't get it. That's why I don't do road races. Trail races have yet to be completely commercialized.

Can you own marathons? I thought they were thrown by the city/town/organization for charity?

Nope. Most of the big events are owned by corporations that make a shit-tonne of money out of them.

I have a friend who owns a sports store and runs triathlons as a side related business. I was talking to him one day about entry fees, and he said the cost to him for a small regional triathlon for road closures alone, which is paid to the local police service, was $12,000 for that one event! For a few hours, not even a whole day. Add to that all of your timing infrastructure etc. and they actually aren't cheap to put on. I can't begin to imagine how much the NYC marathon organisers pay to the city and the police force for the rights to run that event.

I can't begin to imagine how much the NYC marathon organisers pay to the city and the police force for the rights to run that event.

Let's see, 50,000 runners at about $250/person is twelve and a half BILLION dollars in entry fees, not even counting corporate sponsorships. I think they'll find a way to pay for police presence.

For reference, the budget for the entire NYC police department is less than five billion per year, and that pays for approximately 35,000 full time staff plus benefits, all year long.

Maybe my calculator works differently to yours, but I put in $250 x 50,000 and get $12.5 million, not billion. Still an insane amount of money though. And holy crap, $250 for a marathon fee? The big city ones here run at less than half that.

Posting this here, sorry if it has already been posted but I don't have time to go through the whole thread.

I listen to music on spotify while at work and keep hearing the Mobil1 ad where the guy claims to commute from Schenectady to Manhattan for work. I looked it up and according to Google it is a 2:30 commute one way!! I HOPE that no one would actually do this. That doesn't leave any time for anything else! That's 14 hours right there if working 8-5. Also to consider the gas. I would have to fill up every day in my car.

Back in 2006, I visited an aunt and uncle who have lived in Allentown, PA since they got married in 1958. Allentown is roughly the same distance from Manhattan as Schenectady is. At one point they commented how Allentown was having a building boom with houses and apartments for people who worked in NYC. Massive traffic jams morning and evening with cars and buses going between Allentown and NYC, according to them.

I had been noticing as we walk around the neighborhood in the afternoons, that a bunch if people in our 'hood have their older fridge in their garage. I get a bit disgusted about it, such a waste of electricity, and how much fresh food storage could one family possibly need?

At least it is families, though. We visited my FIL this weekend, who lives alone. One man, and he has two full size fridges. One mostly full of his food, the other almost empty with a few beverages and not much else.

The whole weekend I was thinking about what a fountain of wastefulness the average American is.

Maybe my calculator works differently to yours, but I put in $250 x 50,000 and get $12.5 million, not billion. Still an insane amount of money though. And holy crap, $250 for a marathon fee? The big city ones here run at less than half that.

The especially embarrassing part is not that I typoed the calculator, it's that I didn't realize that a marathon shouldn't cost twice as much as the NYPD. Brain fail, sorry.

I had been noticing as we walk around the neighborhood in the afternoons, that a bunch if people in our 'hood have their older fridge in their garage. I get a bit disgusted about it, such a waste of electricity, and how much fresh food storage could one family possibly need?

At least it is families, though. We visited my FIL this weekend, who lives alone. One man, and he has two full size fridges. One mostly full of his food, the other almost empty with a few beverages and not much else.

The whole weekend I was thinking about what a fountain of wastefulness the average American is.

Here in Australia we call that the beer fridge. Used primarily for keeping beer (and mixers or premixed spirits, a few soft drinks for the kids and maybe a cask of wine for the missus) cold. Nothing worse than warm beer, you know! ;-)

Kidding aside, many people I know keep their older, smaller fridge in their garage instead of selling it when they get a family-size fridge. Most of the year ours is switched off with the door wedged ajar to stop smells but it is extremely useful to have it available when needed for extra food and drinks storage for parties, particularly in December when we need a lot of salads, meat for barbecues, etc, for Christmas and end-of-year breakup parties. Doubly or triply so if it is our turn to host Christmas dinner. I'd rather keep it and turn it on when needed (a few weeks per year) than have to run a giant 700L fridge all year round.

My inlaws used to have an upright freezer that looked like a fridge in their garage for storing meat they'd bought in bulk. A neighbour has a two fridges in his garage - one for making homebrew beer in (turned off and used for insulation) and one to store the bottled beer. And my friend keeps her one and only fridge in the garage because she's renting and the fridge space in the kitchen is tiny.

But they can be a definite waste of resources, especially if they're old and inefficient and/or mostly empty.

I had been noticing as we walk around the neighborhood in the afternoons, that a bunch if people in our 'hood have their older fridge in their garage. I get a bit disgusted about it, such a waste of electricity, and how much fresh food storage could one family possibly need?

At least it is families, though. We visited my FIL this weekend, who lives alone. One man, and he has two full size fridges. One mostly full of his food, the other almost empty with a few beverages and not much else.

The whole weekend I was thinking about what a fountain of wastefulness the average American is.

I hate this too. I live with 2 other housemates (we're all girls, in our early 20s). The house is furnished, so came with the fridge - which is pretty big, and has a decent sized freezer. Our new housemate decided to buy a bar fridge, which was cool, because it was kinda little. Then a few weeks ago, the other housemate decides that she also wants a fridge! There were 2 spare shelves in the first fridge already!

This means I have a whole fridge and freezer to myself. Wtf. I use half of one shelf in the fridge, and about a quarter of the freezer. Such a fucking waste.

I had been noticing as we walk around the neighborhood in the afternoons, that a bunch if people in our 'hood have their older fridge in their garage. I get a bit disgusted about it, such a waste of electricity, and how much fresh food storage could one family possibly need?

At least it is families, though. We visited my FIL this weekend, who lives alone. One man, and he has two full size fridges. One mostly full of his food, the other almost empty with a few beverages and not much else.

The whole weekend I was thinking about what a fountain of wastefulness the average American is.

Interesting. When I was growing up, my parents kept an old fridge in the basement (we didn't have a garage) and filled it with all of our chemicals. The door seal kept the smell of paint thinner and bleach in check. I never would have thought of having a fridge in the garage is weird, until now that I think people keep it plugged in and fill it with extra food.

That last post reminds me: at work we have pay grades and when people have worked there long enough, they reach the ceiling. There's not raise in pay (unless the pay grades are changed.) So our boss invented a "performance differential" payout where if someone did a good job, they got a % of their pay over the ceiling. The percentages were flat, they did not go up each year, they didn't change.

So staff who received this performance differential would see one amount on their paycheck. Then, when the ceiling was raised (as it was every few years) they did not see a raise. They bitched and moaned about how they didn't "get my raise in my check." Even though in every situation, with no exception, everyone benefited from the performance differential program, there were complaints. It never worked against them.

The boss became tired of the bitching and he stopped the program.

Wow. This is a case for representational democracy. The average citizen is breathtakingly capable of miscomprehension. Unfortunately, sometimes the representatives we choose are worse.

Sorry was that too politically foamy? I'll stop now. Carry on.

When you're only offered two choices who both suck because they've been vetted through the top 0.5%, are you really going to blame the general public? I completely agree that the average citizen isn't capable of rational thought a lot of the times, but we're also dealing with a terrible system that doesn't give us a leg to stand on. This is whining though and I'm trying to enjoy the post-election quiet and lack of signs.